In a release, the course’s golf professional, Gamie Fagan, expressed disappointed in Venture Golf’s decision to seize the equipment but assured the course will remain open to the public.

“We are very sorry Venture Turf feels the need to remove their leased equipment from the Dogwood Petersburg Municipal Golf Course,” Fagan said. “We will continue to operate the course and continue to be open to the public. It is important to our City’s future to maintain our ranking of being #7 best course in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The Robert Bobb Group, which has been hired to fix Petersburg’s financial woes, said the city had every intention of paying the debt owed to Venture Golf and all other vendors.

The group’s president, Robert Bobb, is asking for patience from public and private sectors as his team maneuvers the city ‘through this difficult time.’ He added that the plan that his team has put in place and was approved by city council remains on task and ‘is working.’

The Robert Bobb Group issued the following statement Friday afternoon:

“We are dedicated to paying our vendors, including Venture Turf, and it is very much part of our plan. However, the public needs to understand that we are all working towards the same goal of fiscal responsibility. We have to cover the expenses related to public safety and payroll first. We can not cherry pick companies to pay. We have a system and a strategy and it is working.

We are working very hard to create short-term financing and we are on track. I ask citizens to be patient. We have to keep the pedal to the metal and keep Petersburg disciplined and on plan. Without public safety and a Petersburg City workforce, we will not have a functioning city or a municipal golf course.

“We believe all citizens of the City of Petersburg are part of the solution to the budget crisis that has presented itself. By realizing this crisis, addressing the needs of our citizens, employees, businesses, government officials, and tourists, we will complete our mission of stabilizing our great city. We have always been a diverse community and we will continue to be one as we progress through this difficult time.”

This is a developing story. Stay with 8News online and on air for the latest updates.